Features you'd like to see in Shroud of the Avatar

I know that the game is going to be using virtues and I was hoping that the following could be incorporated into the game:

Virtues, Character "Classes" and You!

Each Virtue has a character class associated with it, based on the Ulitma 4/5/6. Now, this being a classless game, the 'class' could be converted into a title that you would receive once you gained a certain amount of each of the eight virtues and also a certain level in the right skills. For instance:

You have the following skills:

Magic: 80
Spellcraft: 70
Evaluate Intelligence: 65

You have the following Virtue:

Honesty: 80 (just an example, don't know how it works yet).

This would give you the title of Mage.

You could do this for each and every virtue; get every title (Compassion/Bard, Valor/Fighter, Justice/Druid, Etc.) and finally, after all that hard work pays off, you become an Avatar. The ultimate title for only the most skilled and virtuous of characters. Your skills may come and go (if skill point limit ala UO), but as long as you had those skills and you maintain your virtue level (80 or whatever in each virtue) you get to keep your title.

This could also be implemented for the anti-virtues for evil characters so they could become a Guardian.

When you gain a title, you get special recognition from certain vendors and perhaps acess to speical locations (sort of like getting into Wind for Mages). If you let your virtues slip.... New missions to get your Avatar status back! This might be good end game content that provides a complex, long term goal to work towards.

In the original games, there was only one Avatar, but I think it's something that everyone should be able to work towards and achieve. Just a thought.

 

@Ned888 -

You will be able to have one for Single Player Offline and one for the Online modes.

I think rather than multiple chars per account that we should just be allowed to create multiple accounts. This seems like it would work better with the game they are trying to make. With housing and micro-transactions, dealing with multiple chars seems like it would be exploitable.

Just allow multiple accounts which would be more straight forward.

 

Clean GUI, I hate screen full of buff/debuff icons. In a high inmersive game, any buff/debuff effect should show up in the same game.

 

Objects, objects, objects.

It is not an Ultima-type game without objects. Everything you see, you should be able to pick up and possibly use. Double click a clock to see the time, click on a piano to play it. Click scissors then sheep to cut wool and then thread it on the loom.

Without this, it is not a Lord British-worthy title.

 

Please build in the ability to share "keys" or other means of secure legal access to housing.

Come to think of it I would like to be able to offer other players the chance to restock vendor inventory as well using a similar secure methodology.

 

Still murky on the multiplayer aspect of SOTA, I've heard mention of possible PvP, which would seem to indicate that there would be people other the your friends online with you. But if PvP is possible, I would rather see it happen anywhere as opposed to the arena, or instanced forms most MMOs use.

Please have a day/night system with different racial visions effect how their character sees at night! Like the system EQ1 used.

Allow players to write on blank scrolls and in books.

Cooking as a trade skill, and fishing. I would love to be able to catch fish from the bank up to say 5 lbs. And to be able to go out in a boat and catch larger fish from deeper waters, fish up to 2-300 lbs!

A faction system that players can improve or decrease depending on their actions. So if you want to improve your standing with say the Kobalds, then maybe you have to slay Goblins (because Kobalds hate Goblins) and your faction standing with the Kobalds would slowly improve until eventually you could talk with them, trade with them and maybe even do quests for them.

Mounted combat! Jousting!

 

Here are my recommendations for Shroud of the Avatar :

<em><strong>The game</strong></em>

- I think the creation of this game should follow this : every cause has its effect, in every aspect of the game.

<em><strong>What could you do with Unity engine ?
</strong></em>

- Ok for dual map but what about keeping 3D isometric in the two modes with zoom effects when switching ?

- Day night cycle and a cycle of the seasons make the game more alive: the spring, the meadows greens, summer, fields of grain grows, the autumn, the leaves fall, winter, snow falls and covers the ground, whitening textures... Rain, wind must be perceptible. Also, climatic conditions (shown in the map) must be common to all players, as if the world in which they live is the same.

- Management of fluid mechanics and forces: physics. The addition of such a feature in a game is controversial and technically difficult. However, the Ultima series contributed to the development of this type of functionality: I think Ultima 8 &amp; 9, where objects are subject to gravity, for example.

- The graphics are not just a matter of fine rendering: the design is something far more important. We see that with games like Deus ex series or Diablo. The graphics should reflect a mood. For this, a clever use of light should be a priority. No matter how many polygons you have if you are looking ahead a storm thundering, if you are blinded by the sunlight or if you are captivated by the light of a candle. I beg you: forces of nature must hurt my eyes in this game !

- The animation of the world and its inhabitants should also receive special attention. Each impulse must cause inertia. For example, a load should be able to overthrow the opponent, visually as well as in the mechanics of combat.

<em><strong>What about players' abilities ?</strong></em>

- The player's first ability in RPG is death. If death is only possible in combat, your game will be a WoW-like. If survival is matter of food, of health and security, players will adapt and your game will be part of a new kind. Also, death which isn't definitive isn't death. In game, players must have a chance to raise, with penalty, in a limited number of times. Too much mistake should be punished, and the player should have to reroll with a completely new caracter, which will inherit from the previous.

- People hope mini-games like chess, cards or dice in this game. Also, something like a mini-game that was like the old school turn-based battles from the older Ultimas, or like a table with player and monster tokens you move on a grid. (Umbrae idea)

- A music system with manuel play (the player to create music direcly by pressing keys on their computer keyboard corresponding to musical notes), scripted play (player create sort of music score on a scroll within the game and can play by using it on an instrument) with official scores provided by specialised traders... (Maric's suggestion).

- Players should be able to settle a camp with a fire for the night, provided they have the equipment. Why avatar cannot do what gypsies can do ? Due to the multiplay, the camp would allow a character to disconnect, for example. (Lord Darkmoon)

<em><strong>The collectivity &amp; quests</strong></em>

- I think the creation of the community of this game (PC and NPC included) should consider the following principle: the whole is the sum of all individual actions. A hunter kills a wolf? He will sell the skin. The buyer will make a coat. A player will buy this coat. In this context, artificial intelligence is essential. The world will be more credible if a player, whose action interrupts NPC projects, can feel like interacting with something alive. All must be as dynamical as possible.

- Towns, villages and cities : each could change from one status to another after events of great magnitude (famine, plage, war, etc...).

- Quests auto generator : A system capable of creating quests from random events, acts of players or NPC would extend the life of the game: a pack of wolves settling near a sheepfold, election of mayors in cities and villages in regular time intervals, installation of a player blacksmith in the same village where works one blacksmith NPC and NPC's will (malicious) to order the assassination of player, and so on ...

- As in Ultima 7, an interactive world must seem alive. It must be possible to shadow each NPC and to discover a credible schedule. Bethesda call that Radiant AI, but it's not very credible in Elder scrolls.

- One of the essential foundations of a community is the acceptance of an authority: democracy, tyranny, whatever ... In Britannia, we have been accustomed to the presence of mayors in cities. These mayors have control of guards, urbanism, and the public domain. Provide a system of election which participate NPC and players with the opportunity to campaign for a camp or camp on its own would be something crazy ...

- The idea of ??two warring camps that players can join to participate in battles with siege or skirmish could be worth its weight in gold.

<em><strong>The economy &amp; crafts</strong></em>

- In priority, please, don't waste your time with an auction house ! In medieval world, it's simply not possible to purchase anything from anywhere. Furthermore, auction house may remove any social interaction in the game. Trade is much much more interesting when interacting with a commercial partner, NPC or player.

- You said it very well: if it looks usable, it shoulds do something. Ideally, PC &amp; NPC shoulds be ble to use Any object of the game to interact with something else : shovel to dig the ground, ax to cut wood, sword to kill, knife and fork to eat at the table, book to read, stove to cook ingredients, bandages to heal and so on...

- One problem with games in general is that traders are having bottomless purses. There should be a limited number of coins in the world and a craft designed for minting new coins from gold bars. The game could then calculate prices in terms of money supply and product's rarity. Of course, it remains of course to refine the details of this system. For exemple, the longer it takes to go far to find something, the more its price grows. And it could be great to let players try a royal mint hold up, for example !

- Real money ingame should be limited in its use. Real money disturb ingame economy. It may favorise "pay to win" or "gold coin speculation".

- The craft is based primarily on resource harvesting. However, there are two different professions. The minor is not necessarily a good blacksmith and vice versa.

- Resource harvesting must have mouth: find 5 kg of iron and 2 kg of coal under a rock to forge a claymore is not serious. Thus, the possibility of digging its own mine with the help of some NPC employees could result in a purchase of land somewhere where a resource has been surveyed on the map (as in Settlers). Then, the game creates an instance here and mine is bigger and bigger as days of work, forming a potential dungeon when it is abandoned or overrun by orcs.

- We are hoping mini games for craft in SotA such as fishing : instead of a simple animation of dropping a line into the water and then have a fish pop into your backpack, it should require some skill to land a fish. Line tension and strength, strength of the fish, pole durability, drag, and your knowledge and ability to feel the battle should play a large role in success. (Baralis recommandation)

 

FOR ANIMAL TAMERS:

I think it would be cool to have a stone or a rune that can gate in one of your pets. Something that can be used regardless if you are a mage or not, but could still use mana to invoke.

I think that would be more fun than having to walk with the pet back to the stables every time. Just port them to you and back when you need too.

 

translation into german

 

Not seeing these in here (maybe I missed them?) so I'll add:

* Require food/torches/prep before travelling! Don't handhold people. Dungeons and travel NEED to be hard (as some have said)

* Allow non-combat professions to really exist. If I want to be a shopkeeper, let me actually acquire skills that help with that! My char shouldn't be limited to strictly combat skills.

* Difficult to find spells/recipes - things that require actual research and exploration. Why should everyone just be able to get a special spell? Some should require serious dedication to find and decipher! Same for crafting. The devs mentioned that the best items would require dozens of experts - I *love* that idea!

* No global/trade chat. It really kills the whole experience, and most people unsub immediately anyhow.

 

I just pasted my list from my post in the community

I really want to see big towns with lots of people in full open online mode to hopefully be like how it was on UO. Also optional mini-games for resource gathering would be cool we talked about that a bit in the chat. In the end I want UO style skill leveling, Pets, and as close to possible UO Style custom houses. I've always loved UO so I just really want a full blown UO feel while being able to experience something new and an amazing story line I'm a fan of co-op and single player when others aren't around. I would also love to see recall and moongate type spells brought back those were always awesome! Make as many items in the game craftable and as many animals/monsters in the game tamable. I would say horses are a must as well! Definitely would love Google+/Facebook integration to gather up my friends into the game! Maybe also a LAN offline multiplayer mod for those that want to mod the game but still have fun with their friends. Hopefully when it comes to houses and taxes it's in-game gold maybe a one time or yearly fee of real money of like $20 as opposed to monthly fees. I can't think of anything else right now I'll reply or edit this if I do. I would love to see Android (Phone, Tablet, Ouya!) and possibly Google Chrome Native Client (probably a demo) versions of the game.

<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/105026079540261315944/stream/8f3657f0-6120-4d9d-aa42-a281b2ad3b6e" title="Community Wish List">

 

APARTMENT HOUSING:

This might be an option for a single shard server with a home to player ratio of 100 to 1.

Erect a tall building in each city, so a person could purchase a unit to live in. Then they can check in at the gate and go to there apartment. Only friends who specifically look for your house could visit (so no vendors).

However maybe that can add a few hundred units for each complex, but only taking up the space of one lot! You can also make the rent expensive since it is in a city.

It's better than astral plane housing... although the view would be awesome!

 

A healthy Rares market. UO invented things for people to do. Like a real estate broker, rares merchant ect. No other game right now has a real rares market like UO did.

Also, since it's been 15 years, wonder if we can convince Garriott to FINALLY tell us the story with how rares came to be in UO. EA games has dodged the question for this long.

 

<a href="https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?topic=sheep-shepherds-wolves-bears-and-hunters">This</a> and <a href="https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?topic=economy-and-ecology">this,</a> please.

Open PvP areas with strong incentives for non-pvpers to be there, and a living world with NPC economy and ecology.

 

If we can have houses, why not guilds with guild halls?

Imagine two small guilds on the opposite end of a bustling city, both trading in the same service or good (maybe they're blacksmiths or something). But as they grow, they find themselves in competition. A price war drives the cost of weapons down temporarily, but sooner or later something has to give.

Then on his way back from meeting with some miners, a high ranking member member of one of the two blacksmith guilds is attacked. He drives off the attacker, and continues home. Most people think it was just a bandit, but some suspect foul play.

-----

I think with robust enough game mechanics and options that bring players into in-character conflict, reasons for PVP will present themselves without need for special battlegrounds and such. It would also create a sort of feeling of time passing and allow history to happen naturally.

I'm not sure how possible this is, but it does sound cool to me.

 

1. Verbal/typed commands to non-player-character mercenaries or tamed animals - who in fact are very helpful.

Some examples: "John help me" - and John attacks whatever monster is attacking the player; or "Mary heal me" - and Mary attempts to heal the player with either physical first aid or magic; or "Lars hide here" - and Lars attempts to hide - I'm assuming that hiding will be a skill - and wait somewhere for the purpose of an ambush or to avoid being hurt.

Whether typed out or macro'd, I think that seeing the text of a player issuing verbal commands to his hirelings or pets is more immersive than HUD button-clicking - it adds something to the interaction between a player and the NPC, too - now some of you might say that interaction with a computer-generated person sounds irrelevant in a multi-player world but I disagree.

2. A few more variations by which a player can customize his or her avatar's appearance - a hallmark of Ultima Online was its plethora of cosmetic choices by which a player could represent his or her avatar. These might include:

a. Body build or type - average, portly, stout, or lanky;
b. Clothing or armor condition - stained or rusted, tattered or worn, or pristine or polished;
c. Choices in mounted travel - massive draft horses, armored war horses, sleek and fast ponies, humble mules, exotic camels, and of course ill-tempered llamas;
d. No useless weapons - if a player wants his or her character to be seen wielding a longsword, he or she shouldn't have to expect to be out-fought by everyone with a katana simply because the katana has a superior base swing speed/damage output.

Little aesthetic things like this would add to a player's sense that he or she is representing his or her avatar on the screen as closely to the idea in his or her head as possible.

3. A minimalist HUD display - consider doing away with as much of the numbers, bars, graphs, thumbnails, crosshairs, and buttons as can be done away with.

4. Consider losing the life-bars of opponents - this would add some guess-work and the benefits of experience to monster-hunting; NPCs might have visual cues to let a player know when it's dying or feeling healthy.

Player opponents' avatars might involuntarily do the same unless a player chooses to bluff his adversary. By the same token a player might want to feign weakness in order to draw his enemy in by faking the involuntary visual cues of a hurt avatar - so that bluffing and feigning weakness might be used by clever players as subtle but helpful tactics in player-versus-player combat.

5. Allow players to organize, but with some supervision - players want the game to allow them to make their mark.

Some players want to be allowed to build their own homes and towns and guilds - and they want them to feel like permanent fixtures in the game-world; however without some coherent over-sight they could go off on some tangent and indulge in the myriad tired clich?s that this ultimate RPG is looking to avoid. A dedicated staff - even a staff of volunteer players - could serve as an approving body for petitions writ by players for intelligent new ideas as the world and player base evolves. In this way all servers could look exactly the same at the start of the game - and within the year each server could look as unique as the communities that populate them.

6. Professions and investments for all players to stay engaged - the go-getters get theirs faster and the few-hours-a-night crowd all remain relevant to the player-driven economy.

Bulk order deeds, player-owned vendors, and bounty-hunter reward boards were all very good ideas. I submit another for a more casual player to keep pace without dropping out to play console arcade games instead - investments can be made by any player to a raw goods NPC vendor to encourage him or her to increase his stock. Player craftsmen - and mages if you count reagents as raw goods - benefit from the surplus stock and the investors receive a percentage-based return every few in-game days regardless of whether or not they've logged into the server - the cash would just deposit itself into the players' bank boxes.

Now I'm no economist - so setting caps onto investment amounts and calculating rates of supply versus demand to determine market prices versus investment returns is up to someone else - if it really matters at all; the idea being simply to remove the sense of impending obligation that casual players might be faced with upon logging in time after time to an empty bank box and no motivation to go out and harvest earth elementals for four hours.

7. A personal request - alcohol and the perils of binge drinking; drink too much virtual booze at once and your avatar is transported in varying degrees of undress to random parts of the world. Consider adding this effect to the list of dangers to poison victims - and watch as pranksters become assassins.

 

Boats. Naval combat. Magic carpets. Food and camp system. UO-style skill system. Epic story, epic fights. Detail and mood of Ultima 7. Paperdolls and visual inventory! Companions. Crafting, resource gathering, trading. Tools to encourage roleplay. Multiples of 8. Spell reagants and books. Pocketwatches. Mostly open overworld and non-linear storyline.

last but not least...
STONES!

 

I thought of a couple more things:

1) A 'scrapbook' in game of things that happened during your adventures that you could peruse. Sort of like trophies, except they appear in an 'Dr. Jones' style book you can flip through. As you go you can add more lore, flower pressings, locks of hair, sketches, etc. to your book. I envision it as a sort of badge system but with items that are more sentimental than little round circles with pictures in them.

2) An ingame notebook to keep your clues in. Maybe just a hotkey that will open up notepad for you so that you don't have to alt+tab all the time to make notes. Lazy I know, but I wish for it!

3) Lots of clothes, costumes and armor appearances. I'd also like lots of variety in weapon appearances. A broadsword, doesn't always have to look exactly the same even though it has the same basic characteristics. Perhaps crafters could have multiple 'skins' to make their items from.

 

It kind of terrifies me that the majority of these posts are pushing for multiplayer stuff.

What I want to see:

- A living breathing world, with scheduals and daily tasks for NPC's.
- The virtue system
- Moon gates
- A deep combat system modeled off o f dominion.
- Random encounters that are rare and dependant on times of day and year.
- Non online housing and events.
- Interesting story (which we know nothing about)
- bring in politics, religion and drug abuse like you had in ultima 7.
- look at ultima 7 as to where you want to start in the way it plays.

 

- The economy needs to be very well structured and monitored and adjusted. Constantly. There is nothing worse than a exploited economy in a MMO or an exploitable one in single player. Inflation kills games. For those who choose not to participate in exploits, it devalues the time of in game monetary accomplishment. As a rider on this, exploits or ways to game the economy of certain items are bound to occur. DO NOT wait too long to curb these exploits. This is why the economy needs to be closely monitored.

To echo previous sentiments, everything should not be available everywhere, and there should be no global auction house. Auction houses may be local to a large city where such a function would exist.

If you make weather, make it have consequences more than just impairing visibility. If I am in a blizzard and am not warmly clad, I should be damaged and physically impaired. If it is raining and I am traveling on soil, it should be variably slippery. If it rains in the desert, it should flood in the plains and if I am not careful, I may be swept away in the flood.

For those living in pre-technological times, weather was the single greatest enemy they faced on a day to day basis. Weather can lead to any number of quests with which the intrepid proto-Avatar may interact. Will one endanger oneself to jump into the rushing waters? Or wait for the waters to subside and loot the corpses.

This one may be difficult to pull in to the scope of this game, but I thought I would mention it and invite critique: I like Virtues, and nearly always play as a virtuous character in all my RPG's. However, should there not be also be those who are empowered by embodying their antithesis?

LB talks about how the enemy in this game is dynamic. The nemesis actually does things and seeks his nefarious ends in a real, impactful and intelligent way. Why would those who aid it's goals not be rewarded for allying themselves with it? Any thoughts?